Okay, well tonight was another good opportunity for us to get a look at a lot of young guys, which we did, and I think that a lot of good guys got a lot of experience, so it's good. Good competitive game. And we'll look at the film and go back and make our decisions here within the next couple of days and then obviously turn the page and start getting ready. It's that time of year. We've got a lot of work to do on a lot of things, we've got decisions we need to make, things we've got to get ready for...
Q: Bill, what did you like about Tim Wright?
A: He had a lot of reps and managed to catch the ball, so, we'll see how it goes.
Q: How would you describe his style of play? The way he plays the position?
A: Uh, I don't know. We'll see how he does in the offense.
Q: You've got a lot of corners who may be able to play the safety position opposite Devin. Does that give you a lot more versatility moving forward?
A: Yeah hopefully, yeah hopefully. We got an opportunity to play a lot of guys in the secondary and even tonight, we ran a lot of nickel defense and we've been in that all preseason and a lot against Philadelphia and a decent amount last week against Carolina. So, a lot of our defensive backs have got a lot of experience at multiple positions. The inside nickel positions and corners playing safety and safeties have gotten a lot of work, so it's good to see a lot of them.
Q: Bill, what went into the decision to play Josh Kline pretty much all night at left guard?
A: Because that's the way it is in the last preseason game. We've got some guys who are in the in the lineup, you know we had seven linemen going into the game. I think he's probably played more snaps in preseason than any other player in the league.
Q: What has he shown you from year one to year two in terms of his improvement?
A: You know, really all our guys as they go from year one are starting from a higher point and a good off-season program. They get stronger, get more mentally ready, get better technique, a better understanding of the game. I think all those guys have done that, receivers, all linemen, defensive guys.
Q: The way Garoppolo guided the offense tonight?
A: We'll look at the film. I'm sure there are some good things and I'm sure there are some other things that need to be corrected.
Q: It's been a good week for him as far as just the flow of getting ready to start a game, just going through what that process may be?
A: Yeah, I'm sure it was. I think it was a good experience for him. This will help his development, but he's still got a long way to go. He learned a lot from the week.
Q: It's our first opportunity to see you since Logan [Mankins] was traded. When you say to do what's best for the football team, do you sometimes have to weigh now and then the future as well and try and make that balance in making a personnel decision like that?
A: Yeah, I mean I think I really tried to cover it as simply as I could in the statement that I made after that. I don't think that I could have put it any differently than I already have.
Q: When you sit down and do your roster evaluations now, do you have a set way of doing it in terms of you weigh the games more important over the practices, is it different for every player? How do you weigh the two?
A: I try to do what's best for my football team. A lot of things go into it. I can't say that there's a set pattern. We try to do what's best and there are a lot of things that go into consideration. We do that and make the best decision we can.
Q: How hard did Aaron Dobson work to get to this point where he can play as much as he did tonight?
A: It was good for him to be able to get some game action, go out there and get hit a little bit, to make a couple of plays. It took him a while, I mean he started training camp on reserve and then came off and started to get some more activity and work his way back into practice. He made it back onto the field tonight, so that was a positive. It's been a process. He's had to take each step along the way to get to the next level, so tonight was the first night he played and it was good to see him out there.
Q: You have a lot of competition at running back. Is that going to be some of the tougher decisions you have to make when it comes to the running back area?
A: Well, I mean, sure. We'll just have to see. A lot of those positions play not just off each other, but off other positions, skilled players in general on offense, so we'll just see how it all plays out. But yeah, I'm sure there will be a factor in it.
Q: Is [Jimmy] Garoppolo wanting to keep the focus in the middle of the field before he works back out to the second and third options unusual for a player who is that young?
A: No. We've got other quarterbacks that have gone on to be good quarterbacks. We'll see how he does. I mean, he's got a lot to learn, so he does a lot of good things and he's got a lot to learn.
Q: Has there been any change on the depth chart behind [Tom] Brady as to who is the number 2 [quarterback]. A. No. I haven't announced anything about any starters or anything.
